"The locked room"
Installation 2009
300x400 cm
In The Locked Room, Jonas Vansteenkiste creates an environment that confronts the viewer with the boundaries of perception, access, and isolation. The installation is inspired by Paul Auster's eponymous novel, and it plays with the idea of a locked space that the viewer cannot physically enter. However, through the use of Pepper's Ghost technology, the viewers are projected into the dysfunctional space, allowing them to experience it indirectly. The absence of direct interaction with the space raises questions about the relationship between the viewer and the space itself, and can be examined through the lens of psychological and philosophical theories from various thinkers.
An important point of reference is Gaston Bachelard's work, particularly The Poetics of Space (1958), where he explores the symbolic meaning of space. Bachelard argues that spaces are not only physical environments but also carry emotional and psychological significance. The corners in Vansteenkiste's installation, where the viewer appears trapped, are, according to Bachelard, not merely geometric structures but places of introspection and existential reflection. The space in The Locked Room evokes a sense of loneliness and inaccessibility, which aligns with Bachelard’s idea that small, enclosed spaces can reflect a person’s unconscious thoughts and fears.
The Pepper’s Ghost technique enhances the experience of alienation by showing the viewer a reflection of themselves in the space without providing actual access. This can be linked to the concept of the gaze in Jacques Lacan's theory, which he discusses in Écrits (1966). Lacan describes how the subject is always an object of the gaze, but at the same time, remains an unreachable subject. The viewer is confronted with their own reflection in a space that is inaccessible, touching on Lacan’s idea of the “mirror stage,” in which the ego first experiences itself as a whole through its mirror image, but simultaneously realizes that this image is always separate from the actual self.
Additionally, the installation relates to the concept of liminality, as described by Victor Turner (1969) in The Ritual Process. Liminality refers to the transitional phase where an individual or group exists between two states or realities. In The Locked Room, the viewer finds themselves in a sort of in-between space, an existential liminal zone where access and communication seem impossible. The space is neither fully enclosed nor accessible, contributing to a sense of uncertainty and tension. Turner’s ideas about “liminal space” as a temporary state of transformation can be applied here: the installation creates an indeterminate state of indecision and psychological tension, forcing the viewer to reflect on the nature of space and the boundaries of human interaction with the environment.
By combining these theories, Vansteenkiste’s installation not only offers a visual and physical experience of isolation and alienation but also poses deeper questions about how spaces shape human experience. The closed space in The Locked Room is not only a physical barrier but also a psychological and existential obstacle, inviting the viewer to explore the limits of perception, identity, and communication.